Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS WEY, Ojo, Lagos, has uncovered a makeshift building allegedly being used for storing stolen Automotive Gas Oil, otherwise called diesel, in the Kirikiri area of Lagos.
Recovered were 30 drums filled with the suspected stolen product, which value was estimated at N30 million.
A woman said to have reported at the NNS WEY as the owner of the product was arrested, alongside two drivers said to have arrived at the scene to convey the products in two buses to unknown destinations.
The product, according to the Commander, NNS WEY, Commodore Mutairu Braimah, was sneaked into the makeshift building under the cover of darkness from the Kirikiri canal in the early hours of Sunday.
He explained that: “Based on credible intelligence, we heard there were a lot of illegal activities around the Kirikiri axis. My men stormed this place at about 4 am on Sunday, June 30, 2024, and saw some persons carrying out some acts of illegalities. We found these petroleum products. Two of them who came with trucks to convey the product were arrested while others escaped.
“We discovered their hideout used for storage of these items, and at this particular time, they are yet to give us the source where these particular items are being gotten from.
“We have conducted our own investigation. But we are not a prosecuting agency. We are, therefore, handing the suspects and recovered products to the Police to carry out further investigation and prosecute those that need to be prosecuted”.
While receiving the suspects and products from the Navy, the Divisional Police Officer, Kirikiri Division, CSP Adenola Agidi, said the division would carry out preliminary investigation and thereafter transfer them to the Commissioner of Police for discreet investigation because of the magnitude of the office.
However, the owner of the recovered product, who simply gave her name as Ozi, said the product was not siphoned. Rather, she stated that she bought it as Remnant on Board (ROB).
She said: “I am using this as a means of survival. I bought the product as ROB and sell to truck drivers who buy with jerricans. I don’t know the identities of those that sold the product to me. They brought it in a fiber boat, and I used my hose to collect the product into the drums. I buy a drum between N180,000 and N200,000. I have been in this business for one year”, she stated.